Timbuktu

The mayor of Timbuktu said Monday that Islamist rebels burned a library containing ancient and priceless texts and manuscripts as French and Malian troops surrounded the fabled city in northern Mali.

A growing number of world heritage sites have come under attack in the last few years, with the most recent being militant Islamists’ destruction of cultural treasures in Timbuktu, Mali.

The United Nations’ cultural agency said that clashes between Tuareg-led rebels and the Malian government could damage ancient treasures in Timbuktu.